Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, Nuremberg, Germany

September 27 through October 21, 2011

The exhibition "Religious Tolerance in Oman" was opened on September 27, 2011 in Nuremberg at the BAMF (Federal Office for Migration and Refugees), a department of Germany's Federal Ministry of Interior, by Dr. Manfred Schmidt, President of the BAMF and His Excellence Sheikh Ahmed Al-Siyabi, Secretary-General at the Sultanate’s Grand Mufti Office of the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs. The BAMF hosts the German Islamic Conference - the first institutionalized dialogue between Muslims and state representatives in Germany.

Dr. Schmidt said that the exhibition helps in widening civil and cultural communications, pointing out that there are specialists at the Ministry whose duty it is to acquaint the German people with the authentic Islam based on their research. At the end of his speech, he thanked the chief guest and the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs for organizing such exhibitions.

HE Sheikh Al-Siyabi said that Islam and tolerance are very closely related, since the Quran calls for tolerance in many of its verses and commands Muslims to cooperate with non-Muslims in the interest of peace and happiness for humanity. He emphasized that the organization of this exhibition reflects the Sultanate's approach, which is to present Islam and the extent of tolerance in this religion, which also corresponds to the directives of the country's monarch His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said.

Georg Popp, Secretary-General of the Omani-German Friendship Association (Deutsch-Omanische Gesellschaft) said that the Sultanate of Oman enjoys a distinguished position because of its religious tolerance, which is noticeable to all visitors to Oman. "It is a tolerant country that welcomes other people. Oman has been practicing globalization for over 5000 years and a person's color, religion or race poses no obstacle for the development being witnessed by the Sultanate as all live in peace and security,'' he added.

An open discussion ended the event after the film "Religious Tolerance in Oman" was screened.